Nchsaa Foundation Inc.

The NCHSAA Foundation Inc. operates as the philanthropic arm of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, making it one of the most narrowly scoped funders in the state. Only NCHSAA member schools are eligible for any funding. This is not a foundation where nonprofits, community organizations, or individuals apply — the entire grant, scholarship, and award architecture is designed to flow directly to member high schools, their student-athletes, coaches, and administrators.

The Foundation was established in May 2023 and received IRS 501(c)(3) recognition in January 2024, making it an extraordinarily young grantmaker. The endowment base was seeded by transferring funds from the original NCHSAA Endowment (which dates to 1991), and the Foundation received approximately $18.26 million in contributions in fiscal year 2022 alone. Current assets stand at approximately $24.4 million, suggesting disciplined stewardship during the Foundation's initial operating phase.

The giving philosophy centers on education-based athletics — the idea that participation in high school sports produces lifelong benefits through character development, physical wellness, mental health, and life-skill acquisition. Applicants should frame their projects through this lens. The Foundation is not interested in funding general school programs, varsity record-building, or facilities construction; it funds programming that directly enhances the student-athlete experience in measurable, human-development terms.

The Foundation's evaluation process uses an outside panel of athletic-based educators to review applications — meaning reviewers are peers of the applicants, not philanthropic professionals. This insider-adjacent review model rewards proposals that speak the language of athletic administration: impact metrics, unmet needs within athletic departments, and cost-efficiency. First-time applicants should study the awarded grant categories from prior cycles and align their project to one of the four stated focus areas: student-athlete wellness and life skills, coach and administrator education, health and safety initiatives, or equipment that enables program delivery.

Relationship-building with Foundation staff is appropriate and encouraged. The contact, Kim DeHart (kdehart@nchsaafoundation.org), serves as the primary liaison for both grants and scholarships. A brief pre-application email outlining your project concept is a practical first step to ensure eligibility and alignment before investing time in a full application.

The NCHSAA Foundation's grant program has a single, clearly defined financial ceiling: $5,000 maximum per school per grant cycle. There is no published minimum, and the Foundation explicitly states that partial awards or no award may result depending on review scores, meaning schools should not count on the full amount. This makes the grant program best positioned as a supplemental funding source rather than a primary budget line.

The Foundation made $0 in grant disbursements in fiscal year 2022, reflecting the fact that the organization was still in its formation phase — transferring endowment assets, establishing operations, and building the grant infrastructure. Grant-making activity is believed to have begun with the 2023-2024 cycle, with the program now in its third operational year as of 2026. No aggregated disbursement totals for 2023-2025 are publicly reported in IRS filings reviewed to date, though the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 cycles are both active and publicly announced.

Asset growth tells a strong forward story: $18.4 million in total assets in 2022 has grown to $24.4 million as of the most recent data, a 32.5% increase in approximately four years. As an endowment-backed foundation with net investment income as a key revenue stream (alongside additional contributions), the Foundation's grant capacity is expected to grow modestly and sustainably each year.

By focus area, the Education-Based Grant Program targets four categories: (1) student-athlete physical wellness, psychosocial well-being, mental wellness, and life-skill development; (2) coach and administrator professional education; (3) health, safety, and wellness initiatives for athletic programs; and (4) equipment purchases that enable program delivery. Excluded uses include staff salaries, conference registration fees, political activities, and capital projects such as construction, vehicle purchases, or lighting systems.

Geographically, all funding stays within North Carolina's NCHSAA member school network — there is no out-of-state giving and no funding to organizations outside the K-12 athletic context. Schools that received a grant in the prior cycle are categorically ineligible in the immediately following cycle, creating a built-in rotation among the roughly 400+ NCHSAA member schools.

The Foundation's database-matched peers are selected by asset size within the Human Services NTEE classification. It is important to note that the NCHSAA Foundation is functionally a sports and athletics education foundation (NTEE code N12) — its Human Services classification reflects IRS categorization nuance, not mission alignment with general human services funders. The peers below are used for financial benchmarking only.

Among this peer group, the NCHSAA Foundation stands out for its explicit, open application process — a rarity at this asset level. Most similarly-sized foundations at the $20-30 million range operate by invitation or board-directed giving. The NCHSAA Foundation's structured, calendar-driven grant cycle with published deadlines, posted eligibility rules, and an external review panel makes it meaningfully more accessible than its financial peers, provided the applicant is an NCHSAA member school.

The Foundation's most recent public activity centers on its June 10, 2026 annual awards ceremony held in Greensboro, NC. At this event, the Foundation presented two signature recognition awards: the Dave Harris Athletic Director of Excellence Award (named for a longtime NCHSAA administrator) went to Brian Carver of Enka High School and Joe Sharrow of Felton Grove; the Toby Webb Outstanding Coach Award went to Franklin High School football coach Josh Brooks (150+ career wins across 24 seasons) and Havelock wrestling coach Chase Holleman (350+ dual team wins, 18 years of service, Vice President of the North Carolina Wrestling Coaches Association). Brian Carver's coaching community programs have raised over $210,000 for Coaches vs. Cancer — a specific detail the Foundation highlighted in its announcement, suggesting it values coaches and administrators with measurable community impact beyond athletics.

The 2025-2026 Heart of a Champion winners were also announced, recognizing outstanding student-athletes across member schools evaluated on athletic participation, extracurricular involvement, and community service.

For the grant program, the 2026-2027 cycle dates are now confirmed: applications open September 1, 2026; submission deadline February 27, 2027; notifications April 30, 2027. This signals consistent operational momentum from the Foundation after launching its grant program in the 2023-2024 cycle. No leadership changes, new program launches, or major strategic announcements were identified in web research beyond the continued maturation of existing programs.

Eligibility is binary — confirm it first. Only NCHSAA member schools can apply for Education-Based Grants. If your school is not an active NCHSAA member, there is no path to funding. Athletic directors can confirm membership status through the NCHSAA's member school directory or by calling (919) 240-7401.

Coordinate internally before the portal opens. Only one grant application per school is accepted per cycle. In schools where multiple athletic staff members identify needs, the athletic director should convene a brief planning session before September 1, 2026 (when the portal opens) to agree on a single priority project. Competing internal submissions cannot both proceed — the Foundation takes only one per school.

Frame your project in human-development language, not win-loss language. The Foundation's stated priorities — mental wellness, psychosocial well-being, life-skill development — are deliberate. Reviewers respond to proposals that articulate how a project changes student-athletes' lives, not their statistics. Avoid leading with championship records or facilities upgrades.

Document your other funding efforts in detail. The review panel explicitly weights whether applicants have demonstrated effort to secure multiple funding sources. Include names of other grants applied for, booster club contributions solicited, district budget requests made, and any community fundraising undertaken. A school that has exhausted other options is more compelling than one treating this as a first call.

Get at least two vendor quotes. For any equipment or programming cost, the Foundation expects competitive pricing documentation. This also caps your risk of partial funding: if you can show you shopped the market, a partial award can sometimes still fund your plan.

Avoid the common exclusions. Do not include staff salaries, conference registration fees, construction costs, vehicle purchases, or lighting installations in your budget. These are categorical disqualifiers and will reduce your review score even if the rest of the application is strong.

Plan for the post-award report. Grantees must submit an evaluation documenting fund usage, student-athlete impact, and future expansion plans. Schools that build this documentation habit strengthen their relationship with Foundation staff and position themselves for future cycles (after the mandatory one-year skip).

Contact Kim DeHart before submitting if your project is at the margin of eligibility — kdehart@nchsaafoundation.org or (919) 240-7369. A brief email inquiry is appropriate and welcomed; Foundation staff would rather clarify eligibility pre-submission than decline a borderline application post-review.